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OSDU NewsEnglish-Speaking Union Tournament (Montreal)09/24/2009
The English-Speaking Union of Canada An Educational Charity Working For Youth Wednesday, August 5, 2009 Dear Colleague, On behalf of the English Speaking Union of Canada, I am pleased to present to you the 2009-10“HSBC National Public Speaking Competition” to be held on Sunday, November 1, 2009 inMontreal, Quebec . Each year, the ESU in London, England hosts the “International PublicSpeaking Competition ”. Countries are invited to send two competitors. This tournament willselect the two Canadian participants for the event which will take place May 17-20, 2010. The ESU has more information at: http://esu.org/page.asp?p=1633&inst=1There is a tournament handbook which will become available in January with specific information about the upcoming 2010 competition. However, the 2009 handbook which details the competition format, and rules, etc. is posted online at : http://www.qsda.net/esuThe competition in England requires competitors to deliver a five-minute speech on a giventheme . The theme for the 2010 competition will be announced at a later date. Therefore, thetheme we will use for our national tournament will be “ Mapping the Global Future”. Speakersmay interpret the theme in any way they see fit, but they should not use the theme as their title. In choosing their title, speakers should not be afraid to be provocative, hard-hitting or humorous, as long as their intention is constructive and the speech is not offensive to other parties present. Speakers must avoid speeches that are likely to be perceived as doctrinal or political. In order to be eligible, students, according to the ESU rules, must be between 16 and 20 yearsof age , and in full time education, at the time of the competition in England ( i.e. May 20th,2010). Students who are selected will be required to write a new speech for England on the theme to be announced in 2010. The judging criteria is not any different from other public speaking events with which we are familiar, and the detailed criteria can be found in the handbook online. The qualifying tournament will have two rounds. Each student will deliver his/her five-minutespeech twice, to a separate panel of judges. The top five students will then be selected for a final round, and the top two students will be selected based solely on the final round’s judging. There is a short rules file also available on the QSDA website. The event will take place the morning of the Sunday, November 1, the morning after the McGillUniversity High School Tournament. It is our hope that this will open the event to many schools who are already be traveling from a distance. We are aiming for a 1:30 p.m. finish which would allow schools to book late afternoon or early evening flights home. The tournament will take place at the Best Western Ville-Marie Hotel, (http://hotelvillemarie.com/ ) located at the cornerof Peel and Sherbrooke. Should you require accommodation at the hotel, please contact the hotel manager, Rafik Zikry, directly at rafik@hotelvillemarie.com to get the discounted rate.The tentative schedule for the tournament is as follows: Registration and Refreshments 9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Judge’s and Competitor’s Briefing 9:20 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Round 1 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Round 2 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Lunch 12:00 p.m. - 12:45 p.m. Finals 12:45 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Awards 1:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. This public speaking tournament open is open to any school in Canada, and to first year CEGEP students. However, we are placing an initial limit of two students per school, andalso with a maximum of 32 competitors . We may be able to accommodate more students perschool, depending on registration, and if so will be in touch after the initial registration deadline of Friday, October 2. We hope that some schools, especially those that are local, would be ableto provide a judge. Kindly note that there is a rule in place requiring that students notparticipate in school uniform in order to maintain anonymity of competitors.The top two students who are selected will receive an ESU Canada travel bursary, to be usedtowards the travel costs of competing in the event in England. Please note that these travel bursaries are not prize money. They can only be used towards the cost of attendance in England, and will not be paid out until the plane ticket has been purchased, and a copy submitted to ESU Canada. The travel bursary amount will not be confirmed until a later date. Each competitor will also need to pay to the London organizers, the registration fee, which is approximately 200 British Pounds. ( which includes accommodation, activities and some meals ) The registration fee for this tournament is $60 a student, payable to “English Speaking Unionof Canada”. The cost per coach is $25, which will be waived if you are able to judge. The feeswill cover refreshments, lunch and awards. The initial deadline for registration is Friday,October 2, 2009 , after which I will allow schools to enter more participants if space permits.Please contact me by email with all details. Since we are running this at a hotel, I do need to confirm that we have adequate numbers sooner than I normally would. There are many advantages to this arrangement, and I do apologize that it may be a little more expensive than usual, and is also the reason I need to count meals very carefully and charge a fee for everyone. It is our hope that this approach will raise the profile of this tournament and we hope that your school will be able to participate. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Chris George, ESU Canada Educational Committee Chair Home Phone: 514-448-9059 Email: cgeorge@videotron.ca |